Sony and Hasselblad announce partnership with DSLR on the horizon

Sony and Hasselblad have announced a partnership that will result in an E-mount camera, a compact camera and a product for the DSLR segment. Hasselblad says the aim of the partnership is to 'cultivate new markets for photo enthusiasts and consumer digital imaging products' and will begin with an E-mount camera, called the Hasselblad Lunar. The use of the words 'DSLR segment' implicity doesn't rule-out the possibility that Hasselblad will adopt Sony's SLT system (or simply re-brand one of its models).

Press Release:

Hasselblad and Sony in Partnership to Enrich Product Offerings

Hasselblad and Sony usher in a ‘new dawn’ with a long-term partnership that will enable the high-end medium format camera manufacturer to diversify for the first time into new market segments. The Swedish company Hasselblad, pioneer and developer of the H System, the world’s most advanced medium format digital camera system – used by top professional photogra- phers all over the world – has decided to work with Sony Corporation to cultivate new markets for photo enthusiasts and consumer digital imaging products. Hasselblad is keen to expand and develop its product portfolio to include a new range of advanced mirrorless interchangeable lens cameras (a.k.a. compact system camera), which will be followed by new products for DSLR and compact camera segments.

Hasselblad and Sony have agreed further on plans for the two organisations to work together in efforts to achieve technical and engineering breakthroughs in various photographic technology challenges.

Said Dr. Larry Hansen, Hasselblad Chairman and CEO: “Following talks with Sony - the key player in the serious photographer and enthusiast market spaces - we are delighted to announce the emergence of a new dawn for Hasselblad. This partnership will enable us to access an area of the photographic sector, which we have never reached out to before, by tapping on Sony’s excellent state of the art technology and spirit of ground breaking innovation. Owning a Hasselblad, made in Sweden, will no longer be just a dream for many photographic enthusiasts.”

Shigeki Ishizuka, President, Sony Digital Imaging Business Group, added: “This is a very exciting partnership because Hasselblad’s loyal customers with deep attachment to this prestigious photography brand get familiarised with Sony’s industry-leading camera technologies. We believe that we can further enhance our digital imaging development and manufacturing expertise through this partnership, so that we will be able to offer increasingly attractive products to our customers for years to come.”

I try to keep up with this kind of stuff, not sure how this announcement got past me.. BUT in having recently visited the Hasselblad website, the new Lunar is nothing more than an NEX-6/7 with fancy trim... Damn!!, I was hoping for a cropped MF sensor, lol, which would have been a 35mm sensor - /sigh..

Oh well.... Who will be first with a 'real' interchangeable lens mirrorless body????****A 35mm digital body!****

Yes, re-branding is easier than hard-working on original inovations. Outselling good photographic name and tradition is an unforgivable sin. New Hasselblad - expensive grip-making company.What would Victor Hasselblad say? Shot the CEO and get busy...!

I am a poor man, but spent £100 on a really old Hasselblad 500cm, with 80mm lens. I was shocked at how fine detail it can capture - better than my canon lenses, better than secondhand Carl Zeiss Yashica-mount lenses I have, (which are better than my Canon lenses too.

I can't wait for Hasselblad and Sony to work together, as long as they come up with some first class 35mm sensor cameras, and use the excellent quality of the Hassy lenses, but at a more consumer price - Hopefully, I can look forward to a 36-50 megapixel camera, with the very high definition lenses we could expect from Hasselblad, and if they can work out how to sell it for £1500, I will be able to buy one. For the last 10 years I have been waiting - hopefully some strides will be made now in real progress. If we can persuade them to improve on the Foveon sensor, and have 3x50 megapixels available, I shall be in a highly satisfied state - can't wait!!!

The what now...? Who do you want to 'persuade' to improve the Foveon sensor? Sigma own Foveon. They have already 'improved' the Foveon sensor dramatically in the latest model; the Merrill. I can't see Sigma working with Hasselblad when Sony is clearly already doing that. So what are you talking about?

"Alessandrini stressed that, 'This [the Lunar] is not a NEX-7 camera, just because we are buying components from Sony"Sorry Mr Luca, what do you think if Lamborghini super sport car replaces its V12 engine and put suzuki swift engine into it.Nice try sir, and good luck with your strategy..btw i think wood accent using at camera grip will not work unless u have plan to use it as an ornament...man that's a very expensive ornament, but Mr Gates will love it.. :)

The Lambo engine is the same block used in the Bentley and VW Phaeton, which is actually two VW Golf V6 engines welded together(simplified explanation I know). The floor plan is the same as the Audi R8......incidently, the Bentley Continental has the same floor plan as the Audi A8, which is the same as the VW Phaeton and will probably be used in a new Skoda lux vehicle.

Hey your Nikon has a Suzuki swift engine ;) Mr nikonnikon or should it be Mr sonikonsonikon?...LOLNice one King Penguin it's clear this dude does not know cars.He probably thinks Koenigsegg cars don't use ford engines...LOL

When Sony partnered with (i.e. acquired) Konica-Minolta there was a logic to it, its entry into digital SLRs. What does this partnership do for Sony other than sell components. Partner with someone who can help you advance viewing systems, ergonomics, lens design, image processing, etc.

Wow, right now we only have about 99 digital camera manufacturers using 199 form factors with 999 models. Yessirie, what we need now is at least one more. We should be all thanking Sony and Blad for thinking this up.

The designs that you showed earlier were an embarrassing example of a 65 year old mishapen lady in a miniskirt! For goodness sake, adding some walnut veneer to the dashboard does not create a better driver. Hassy have seen the future and know that their v. expensive offerings are becoming redundant so are flailing around for attention. The Sony brand has very good standing; attaching themselves to the Hassy label with these sort of ideas is going to lower its value considerably :(The NEX bodies are great...with more Zeiss lenses the total package may become orgasmic !!

They are in trouble, that is right but that's because People are kind of stupid. In no way the picture quality and the possibilities of medium format is comparable to stinky little full-frame. Resolution isn't everything!

Buy or use one and you will find out why $20K is money well spent....The H4D is a stunning piece of equipment - with an image quality that is not not comparable to the Nikon. Different cameras, different purposes.

Just returned from photokina and the Hasselblad standA few impressions:A guy from the "real Hasselblad" department also is not impressed and fears the impact of this on the brand nameIt is uncomfortable to hold with my average male hands, so not even improvement in that areaIt is even more ugly in real lifeThe Lunar people look at this as a test, they were a bit defensive. Think they have already heard lots of criticism.The opinions I have heard range from ridiculous to embarrassing.There are Hasselblad lenses (wide angle ,standard zoom? They would not tell details) planned for the beginning of next year, and this is interesting for Sony NEX users. So this cooperation might bring something useful and not just bling

Actually it makes perfect sense for Hasselblad and Sony. Hasse has been developing sensors where the development cost is divided by too few units sold and thus making them out of market expensive. In a deal with Sony they can use Sony's massive research team to develop medium format sensors while delivering some of the DLSR and mirrorless market to Sony with their brand identified customer base. To date Sony is still an also-ran next to Canon and Nikon in the more serious DLSR enthusiasts market

Exactly. As Leica does with Panasonic product, with the intent of some image parameter tweaking and a higher level of warranty service. If Hasselbald were serious about the Lunar, it would say Lifestime Warranty; you can return every 2 years for what we used to called CLA; etc. The cameras keep getting more and more costly, but I don't see any innovations along those lines.

go back ten years and a good percentage of pros used medium format but now in my area i don't know any. We have all invested to much in Canon / Nikon lens to switch without a very good reason. Will this camera be so good pros will ditch the d4s and 1DX's probable not.

I didn't quite got that. Does that mean, we'll see re-branded Sony cams with expensive logo? Like PanaLeica? Can't wait to throw my money on that...

Hasselblad Lunar - or SonyBlad for lunatics?

Anyway, that's great. The king of swedensteel could do with some help from Japan, no doubt. But besides irony, I really expect nothing but re-branded Sony's at a much higher expense, and that would be just sad.

" Does that mean, we'll see re-branded Sony cams with expensive logo?"It means that Hassel will build A and E-mount cameras as well as compacts and accessories.

I'm quite sure that compacts will be exactly the same thing Leica does - re-painted camera of the other company.

E-mount cameras likely will be improved Sony NEX bodies - just like we seen it with Lunar - new grip, improved handling and body structure, firmware changes.

A-mount seems to be something completely new as they are talking about Full Frame DSLR - while currently Sony doesn't have any DSLR nor will to develop one. So most likely Hassel will use components (sensor, processors, AF, etc) from Sony and release high-end A-mount DSLR (with pentaprism OVF).

Add line of accessories (tripods, bags, matte screens, viewfinders, etc) and you roughly get the picture.

Sony acquired Minolta some years ago...Kodak had some sort of "synergy" with Hasselblad from 90's.Now Kodak belongs to history.Maybe some guys from Minolta now in Sony, will find a partner in Hassis's staff to help them make things better...Sony's management seems they don't really know what to do with premium brands. Sony's corporate culture and goal does not offer ways to adopt "external" partners who are away from corporate thinking.They are good in advertising though...

Serioussly???You do know that Sony has some of the best Sensors? And Nikon is using actually Sony Sensors? Sony's DSLRs are actually pretty damn good and they are being underestimated. they do focus more on consumer Products but also the new A99 FF is pretty neat. and a collaboration between Sony and Hasselblad is the best thing for consumers ever.. Immagine a collaboration between Canon and Hasselblad for example.. a Medium format Canon Camera...

We (the real Hassblad users) need high quality products and not a over-priced consumer toy! What should we do with such a camera? We need a significantly improved battery life, weather sealing, faster autofocus, less noice - that's it.

It seems you do not realize what a cheaper Hasselblad means for the Hardworking people of the Middleclass who can't afford a 20.000$ "real Hasselblad" btw this looks more like a Toy for the rich and Powerful. Putin already has one :PEven for Haselblad.. ist all about the money and to find more ways to make it.

The rot set in when Hass became Fuji and dropped real (not made in Japan second rater 'Zeiss'/ Consina) made in Germany Zeiss lenses - sadly this trend continues - think in a few years Hass will become the new Leica - purchased by posh owners who don't take pics just collect cameras because they might go up in value. The decline has begun to speed up with naff overpriced products such as this one.

Yes Leica sticks the red dot on Panasonic compacts ..BUT Leica also makes top notch cameras (Niche) and fantastic (Expensive ) Lenses Hassleblad just re-badge Fuji 645 cameras and stick Fuji lenses on them I believe the Back is an IMACON (made /Assembled in Denmark

Not a huge difference to the other big 2, a couple of months in a 4 year product cycle is hardly a big deal. Canon and Nikon 'seem' to release more regularly because they have more FF models in totality, but really the D700 and 5D MkII were released about the same time as the A900, the A99 a few months after the Canon 5D III and Nikon D800.

i know what to make of it: ugliest, most uninspired, most overpriced camera ever. Its going to take an awful lot to top this one. And to think we all laughed at the leica monochrome. This camera takes the cake.

I think it's exceptly unique & attractive and very refreshing from the tradional black plastic crap design Nikon & canon have been using for the past 20 years. I congratulate them for thinking way outside the box. Different strokes for different folks I guess

I don't see how the market can possibly support another big DSLR. Another Full Frame Compact System Camera, yes absolutely. Hassy/Sony should go that way, fast. Top shelf IQ in a small, discrete, sexy, desirable package, that undercuts Leica.

Maybe because truly at the heart of it, despite what you would like to believe, that cameras of today have very little in common with the great film camera companies of yore. Yes there is the optics side of things and cameras share a 'similar' at best layout, but internally there is far less that is similar than there is that is different.

I don't see a chance for this. Hassel will most likely release regular DSLR of their own design using Sony parts (sensor, processors, bayonet, AF, etc.) - looking at the graphic above it seems like kinda re-worked Canon 1D. Only made by Hassel, and aimed for studio photography.

I see this as a smart move for all involved and a natural progression from Sony's relationship with Zeiss. Many potential Medium Format users are migrating to high end DSLRs (i.e. Nikon's D800) that approach Medium Format resolution for much less money. This move allows Hasselblad to be competitive at that price point (i.e. why buy a Nikon DSLR with Medium Format quality at a reasonable price when you can buy a Hasselblad/Sony DSLR with Medium Format quality at a similar price -- from a company that makes actual Medium Format cameras?) Just my two cents.

So, the future will probably be Hassony or Sonylblad or what. It is just a question of month until Sony will eat up the whole Hasselbald industry. I do not see this as bad news, maybe it rings the times of affordable mid format and since Sony is supposed to work on the square sensor since a longer time, this confirms this in a simple way. So, on my side, i consider this as good news. The evolution of Minolta under Sony is a positive thing, I doubt that Minolta had gone that far alone. Only black point is pricing policy, If Sonny-Hassy stick to the Leica pricing policy, there is not much hope. But, let's wait and see.

I think this could be very bad news. Remember when Konica/Minolta announced they were working with Sony. The next thing that happened was Sony took them over. I fear very much for Hasselblad as a company now this tie up has been announced. I sincerely hope I'm wrong.

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